The China Studies Centre (CSC) of the University of Sydney is supporting work on the regulation and testing of Chinese medicines in China and Australia in order to inform the safe use of Chinese herbal medicines in Western countries. The project, starting in mid 2011, involves the Faculty of Pharmacy, Sydney Medical School, School of Information Technology, and Chinese universities.

Australia will be the first Western country to register Chinese medicine practitioners under the new Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency from July 2012. Although based on a long history of culture and use, the safety of Chinese herbal medicines in a western context has been a major concern. The project will evaluate evidence and provide a database to support the regulation of appropriate prescribing of potentially toxic Chinese herbs by Chinese medicine practitioners. It will make recommendations based on the literature and knowledge of Chinese medicine practice and research. The project will also develop effective methods to identify potentially toxic herbs.

The University of Sydney group has been working on the quality, efficacy and safety of traditional medicines for 20 years. "The new initiative will have implications internationally. It is also consistent with the policy of the Chinese government on the modernization and globalization of Chinese medicine", said the project leader Dr George Li.